Renowned AP photographer was always in right place at the right time

firefighters standing awestruck on a grassy plain in San Diego in 2003 as giant plumes filled the sky and advanced toward them. Ignelzi raced downhill to transmit from his car because phone towers in the area had been destroyed.

Some of his most memorable work was in sports: Tiger Woods’ tying putt in the 2008 U.S. Open that led to his epic win, Magic Johnson celebrating with the original “Dream Team” at the 1992 Summer Olympics and careers of the Padres’ Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman and the Chargers’ Dan Fouts.

Deep knowledge, a tireless work ethic and fierce determination were ingredients of his success. Sally Buzbee, executive editor of The Washington Post, said Ignelzi “had the best gut news instincts of anyone I ever worked with.”

“He knew instantly what was important, how to chase it, how to get it, how to show it and tell it,” said Buzbee, who worked with Ignelzi as AP’s San Diego correspondent in the 1990s and was AP’s executive editor from

2017 to 2021. “And he was insanely, fabulously,

Leonard Ignelzi over-the-top competitive. I learned a huge amount just watching him work, seeing how he attacked stories.”

J. David Ake, assistant managing editor and director of photography at the AP, echoed that sentiment. “More than just a natty-dressed, cigarsmoking, photographer extraordinaire, he was one heck of a newsperson. He knew his town, he knew the story, and he knew how to tell it with a camera,” Ake wrote to AP staff.

Ignelzi disliked that some of his best photos portrayed human suffering.

“Maybe that’s why sports is a good thing, in that it’s more positive,” Ignelzi said in a career retrospective on San Diego’s KPBS-TV in 2014. “I mean, one team loses but it’s sports. It’s not the end of the world.”

Ignelzi never hesitated to speak his mind, especially if someone or something got in the way of a photo he wanted. Despite a sometimes gruff exterior, he was known for generosity and kindness.

Ignelzi is survived by his wife, Bobbi, whom he met when they worked together at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and sisters Lucy Whiting and Rosemary Thuet and their families. He was preceded in death by a brother, Joseph.